This tour gives a flavor of what the Cathedrals tour is about and you must remember that the tour you take will be drawn up for you personally by email correspondence. There are over 30 such cathedrals ranging from the ancient to the modern. In a 14 day tour you may hope to visit 12 or 13 of them ranging from Chichester in the south to Durham and York in the north plus places of interest such as stately houses on the way.
You will also choose the standard of accommodation you wish to stay in but our normal practice is to stay in old manor houses where possible on a B&B basis.
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral, London. The Abbey was founded as a Benedictine monastery by King Edward the Confessor and consecrated on 28th December 1065. Every royal coronation has taken place in the Abbey since William the Conqueror on 25th December 1066. The Abbey is a building of great beauty and has a transcendental quality.
A church was first built on the site of St. Paul's Cathedral before the Romans left Britain about 410 AD. The present building was designed by Sir Christopher Wren following the great fire of London and work began on the structure in 1675. The cathedral has a major role as the church of the British Commonwealth and contains many memorials not the least of which is the American Memorial Chapel to the 28,000 Americans killed in WW2 during the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Day 2: Canterbury Cathedral and St. Martins Church. In 597 St. Augustine landed at Thanet to convert the Saxons in Kent to Christianity. St. Martins Church is where he worshiped until he established his Cathedral. This Saxon Cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1067 and its successor was also burnt down in 1174 when the present building was begun. It is a building of much grace and beauty. In the afternoon you will be free to explore the City of Canterbury or travel on to the White Cliffs of Dover and Dover Castle.
Day 3: In the morning we will drive to Brighton to visit The Royal Pavilion. This has a very unusual architectural style built for George 4th to "wow" the other monarchs of Europe. We then drive on to Chichester Cathedral. The Cathedral as we see it today was begun in 1115 and has been much added to since. In the late afternoon there will be an opportunity to visit the excavated Roman Palace thought to be the palace of Cogidubnus, a romanized celt.
Day 4: We travel on to Salisbury in Wiltshire. We start by visiting Old Sarum an ancient hill fort and Saxon town abandoned about 1450 where the original cathedral was built in 1075. The present one was begun down in the valley in 1220 and completed in 1258 and is thus in one style, Gothic. The sweeping vista from the Trinity Chapel in the east to the great west door is one of the finest interior views of any English cathedral. In the afternoon we visit Wilton House the ancestral home of the Earl of Pembroke. This has magnificent state rooms and over 200 works of art many by Van Dyke, Rubens, Reynolds and Breughel; there are four fine gardens.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
The per person price shown is merely indicative. The cost of the vehicle plus driver/guide per day is 250 GBP plus 40 GBP for his B&B. Four guests equals 75 GBP per person. The costs will vary with the number of guests, reducing as the number goes up. You will pay your accommodation costs plus your lunch, dinner, refreshments, and entrance fees. You should allow 100 GBP per person per day for this.
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
England
Church Tours
Cultural Journey
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